Season renews crosstown

May 22-26 \| Hohokam Stadium \| Mesa, Ariz.

	(4) GRAND CANYON LOPES (33-22)	at	WAC TOURNAMENT

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 22 • 2 p.m. MST • vs. (5) CSU Bakersfield
Ticketing Info • Live Stats • Live Video
RHP [FR] Pierson Ohl (6-4, 3.42) vs. LHP [JR] Edgar Barclay (6-3, 3.27)

The records reset when the WAC Tournament commences at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz., on Wednesday.

After finishing among a five-team logjam within a game of first place, Grand Canyon enters as the tournament's fourth seed and will play in the opening game against CSU Bakersfield at 2 p.m.

Despite having three WAC crowns in their recent history, the Lopes enter the double-elimination tournament for just the second time after completing the Division I transition. GCU's first entry into the conference tournament ended with two defeats, a learning experience for the rising Lopes program.

Without the luxury of a first-round bye, GCU's path to an automatic NCAA regional bid consists of four games or more if the wins don't come consecutively.

Sporting a 16-4 record in their past 20 times out, the Lopes will once again turn to freshman right-hander Pierson Ohl as the opening game's starter. The newly dubbed WAC Freshman of the Year will face Roadrunners junior left-hander Edgar Barclay.

The Lopes and 'Runners last met under three weeks ago and under 25 miles from the site of Wednesday's meeting. CSU Bakersfield was the third opponent in a series of four straight Lopes weekend sweeps. The 'Runners took 2-0 leads in all three games but GCU recovered each time in the bottom half of the same inning to tie or take the lead.

Barclay, who has been CSUB's top starter most of the season, had an uncharacteristically bad outing against GCU in the middle game of the three-game series. The Lopes tagged the Hilo, Hawaii, native for seven earned runs on 11 base hits in an eventual GCU run-rule victory.

Led by a WAC-high seven all-conference selections and the conference's top pitching staff, GCU looks to advance past CSU Bakersfield for a Thursday matchup with either of the tournament's top two seeds. A win combined with a Sacramento State victory on Wednesday would set the Lopes up for a Thursday 7 p.m. game with No. 1 New Mexico State. A GCU win and a Utah Valley win on Wednesday would set up a Thursday afternoon tilt against No. 2 UT Rio Grande Valley at 3 p.m. A Lopes loss would send GCU into an elimination game on Thursday at 11 a.m. against the loser of Wednesday's Sacramento State-Utah Valley matchup.

Fans can listen to a familiar voice call all the action with Lopes play-by-play man Michael Potter calling the entire tournament on ESPN+, which requires an additional paid subscription.

For more GCU baseball news, notes and numbers, click here to view game notes and click here to view the media guide.

May 22-26 | Hohokam Stadium | Mesa, Ariz.

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Players Mentioned

Pierson Ohl

Grand Canyon University Athletics